Historic Barns of Connecticut

Designations

n/a

Historic Significance

Architectural description:

This is a 1 ½ - story gable-entry barn with a shed-roof addition encompassing the entire length of its north eave-side. The north eave-side of the shed-roof addition faces Torrington Road while the ridge line of the main barn runs east-west parallel to the road. The main façade of the barn is the west gable-façade with the original main entrance at the center through an exterior-hung sliding wagon door which appears to be no longer functional and has a pair of hinged glass pass-through door inserts. A sign board displaying the name of the barn as ‘COMMERFORD’ is centered above the main entrance while a hinged pass-through door can be seen towards the north. The gable attic lined by deep soffit has a hinged hay-door at the center with a six-pane window insert just below the apex of the roof. The façade has two other entrances through two over-head garage doors on the south side-wall of the shed-roof addition flush with the main south gable-façade.  The undulating grade level along the north eave-side of the shed-roof addition reveals the cement plastered masonry foundation below. The north eave-side of the shed-roof addition displays the message ‘PRAY FOR PEACE’ and has an ornate sign board towards the west stating: ‘BREEDERS- American Miniature Horse, Commerford & Sons’.

The wooden frames of the barn and the shed-roof addition are supported on cement plastered masonry foundation. The barn complex has light yellow painted vertical siding and recently done metal roofing.

Historical significance:

The New England barn or gable front barn was the successor to the English barn and relies on a gable entry rather than an entry under the eaves. The gable front offers many practical advantages. Roofs drain off the side, rather than flooding the dooryard. With the main drive floor running parallel to the ridge, the size of the barn could be increased to accommodate larger herds by adding additional bays to the rear gable end. Although it was seen by many as an improvement over the earlier side-entry English Barn, the New England barn did not replace its predecessor but rather coexisted with it, as both types continued to be built.

Field Notes

Comerfords, a large commercial breeder of exotic and circus animals Many barns and sheds Small barn near the house has "Pray for Peace" lettering on the side 12/3/10

Use (Historic)

• agriculture

Use (Present)

• animals, not listed

Exterior Visible from Public Road?

Yes

Demolished

n/a

Location Integrity

Unknown

Related features

• Barn
• Other
• Shed
• Stone Walls

Environment features

• Commercial
• Open Land
• Residential
• Woodland

Relationship to surroundings

The 32.93 acres property, account number - 00064700, map & lot number- 05/008 / 104/00 / is located towards the south of Torrington Road, Route 4. The property is situated in a mixed use area, flanked by residential plots towards the east and the north across the road. Barns and outbuildings belonging to the public works department, Town of Goshen, can be seen towards the west of the property. Commercial units can be seen towards the further west along Route – 4 while dense woodland covers the area towards the south and the southeast of the property. A water body is located towards the south-west corner of the property.

The barn is located along the northern edge of the property abutting to Torrington Road with its ridge line running east-west parallel to the this portion of the road.  The property is accessed by a driveway towards the west of the barn that continues south to access the circa 1840 main residence towards it south-east. Woodland can be seen towards the west of the main residence while open land can be seen towards the south. A gable-roof farm utility shed is located towards the east of the barn with stone masonry boundary wall defining the northern edge of the property. The property includes two large gable-roof barns towards east while three other gable-roof sheds can be seen towards further east, arranged with their eave-sides facing each other. The ridge lines of all the sheds runs east-west while those of the two barns runs north-south perpendicular to the road. The property includes parcels of open land towards the east, west and south of the barn complex while dense woodland can be seen towards further south and the south-east. 

Building Typology

• New England

Materials

• Concrete
• Vertical Siding

Structural System

• Load-bearing Masonry
• Wood Frame

Roof materials

• Metal

Roof type

• Gable
• Shed

Approximate Dimensions

Barn: 9600 SqFt; Barn: 9400 SqFt; 4 Farm utility storage shed: 1200 SqFt each; Farm utility storage shed: 640 SqFt

Date Compiled

02/22/2011

Compiled By

T. Levine and M. Patnaik, reviewed by CT Trust

Sources

Photographs and field notes provided by Lynne Williamson, 12/20/2010

Assessors’ records retrieved on February 22nd, 2011 from website http://data.visionappraisal.com/GoshenCT/

Photograph/Information retrieved on February 22nd, 2011 from website http://www.google.com

Photograph/Information retrieved on February 22nd, 2011 from website http://www.zillow.com

Sexton, James, PhD; Survey Narrative of the Connecticut Barn, Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, Hamden, CT, 2005, http://www.connecticutbarns.org/history

Visser, Thomas D.,Field Guide to New England Barns and Farm Buildings, University Press of New England, 1997.